Reviewed by USGSBolivia39y ago
M4.6 earthquake 101 km WSW of Atocha, Bolivia
Tuesday, May 5, 1987, 13:44:05 UTC · 21.382°S, 67.074°W
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 101 km WSW of Atocha, Bolivia on Tuesday, May 5, 1987, 13:44:05 UTC, at a depth of 261.7 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.8 on April 30, 1987.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 262 km
- Intermediate
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
120 tons of TNT
That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
13 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Altiplano and South American plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: intermediate
262 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 50 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 236 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.751 km W of Atocha, BoliviaNovember 29, 1957 · 61 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3136 km WSW of Challapata, BoliviaJune 6, 1915 · 258 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.278 km SW of Colchani, BoliviaOctober 4, 1910 · 86 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.1136 km E of Iquique, ChileJune 14, 1959 · 215 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.069 km NW of Camargo, BoliviaMay 17, 1909 · 184 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.052 km W of Abra Pampa, ArgentinaApril 1, 1987 · 178 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.999 km WNW of San Antonio de los Cobres, ArgentinaFebruary 21, 1971 · 267 km S of this epicenter
- 6.840 km SE of San Pedro de Atacama, ChileAugust 3, 1962 · 216 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 15 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 9 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1953M7.4
Northern
7 Dec 1953 · 186 km away
3 deaths$7 million damage
- 1970M4.6
Potosi
6 Mar 1970 · 263 km away
2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1967M7.5
Northern
21 Dec 1967 · 253 km away
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1976M7.3
Pozo Almonte, Oficina Victoria, Arica
30 Nov 1976 · 214 km away · intensity VIII
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1959M7.5
Bolivia-Northern Chile
14 Jun 1959 · 148 km away
1 deathLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1950M8.0
Chile-Argentina
9 Dec 1950 · 240 km away · intensity VII
1 death
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.